This small crater (approximately 7 meters, or 20 feet, in diameter) was created sometime within the last five years. We know this because we have enough images of Mars over the last decade that we can narrow down its formation date using "before" images where the crater did not appear.

We are able to discover these new craters because the dark area surrounding them is much larger than the crater itself. We can detect this larger dark spot with lower-resolution data sets from other instruments. Then when HiRISE follows up, the higher resolution image reveals the crater at the center of the dark spot, as well as details of the ejecta and surrounding area.

Studying new craters like these will tell us more about the current rate of impacts on Mars. A common technique for estimating the age of a given surface involves counting how many craters of each size are present on that surface. This will help us better understand results from that technique, and refine it to give more accurate ages.

Small impacts like these also represent a hazard to future exploration, both on Mars and the Moon. Imagine if one of the Martian rovers had been at this spot when this object blasted into the surface! This may be a very small crater on planetary scales, but it could still cause a lot of damage. On the Moon, where there is no atmosphere to provide protection from even the tiniest micrometeorite, the danger would be even higher. Knowing the rate of impacts like these will tell us how much shielding will be needed for future landers, rovers, and eventually human explorers.

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All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage
by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Postscript
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and
built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.
The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.